"Arab Blogs Size Up Obama"- Josie Delap <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/11/07/opinion/08webdelap.html?ref=opinion>
On Nov 8, 5:30 am, margareth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > With some of the incursions into Pakistan no matter how justified are > intended to make sure that for the next few years, the US will have no > shortage of enemies. Now should the Canadians in Kandahar be more > concerned about the Taliban, or friendly fire? Our government has > committed them to 2011, but I certainly hope they use them for more > than just target practice. Quite a few are recruited from either brown > skinned minorities, or from areas of high unemployment. > > On Nov 8, 4:29 am, "mike [move on] 532" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > > is it just weddings that general betray us hates or dark skined > > people ? > > > On Nov 8, 4:26 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Another US massacre in Afghanistan > > > By James Cogan > > > 8 November 2008 > > > > An Afghan government investigation into US air strikes carried out on > > > Monday in the province of Kandahar has found that at least 37 > > > civilians taking part in a wedding celebration were massacred. Another > > > 30 people or more—men, women and children—were injured. The > > > investigation also claimed that 26 insurgents fighting for the former > > > Islamist Taliban regime were killed. > > > > The US attacks devastated the small village of Wocha Bakhta in the > > > district of Shah Wali Kot, some 80 kilometres north of Kandahar city. > > > > According to a US military statement issued on Wednesday, the air > > > strike was called in against a band of Taliban who had occupied the > > > village and fired on a patrol of NATO troops. It alleged that the > > > insurgents used the civilian population as human shields and implied > > > that any casualties could have been caused by insurgent fire. > > > > US spokesman Colonel Greg Julian told journalists: "We acknowledge > > > that some civilians have been injured and some may have been killed. I > > > can't confirm numbers." > > > > An Agence France Presse report based on interviews with villagers and > > > filed on Wednesday presented a very different picture of events. > > > Locals told AFP that as a lunch-time wedding celebration was drawing > > > to a close, insurgents fired on occupation troops from a nearby hill. > > > NATO forces wrongly concluded that the village was the source of the > > > attack and initiated a full-scale assault. > > > > Abdul Jalil, a cousin of the woman getting married, told AFP: "They > > > surrounded the village. From 2 p.m. until 12 at night they kept the > > > village under fire from helicopters, jet fighters and troops on the > > > ground." > > > > The village cleric, Mullah Mohammad Asim, claimed that air strikes had > > > targeted six to seven houses, including the complex where the wedding > > > party was taking place. "They pounded and fired into the village from > > > afternoon until midnight," he said. > > > > The family of the bride, who was wounded in the attack, was decimated. > > > Her father, Roozbeen Khan, said: "I lost two sons, two grandsons, a > > > nephew, my mother and a cousin... My wounded son was in my arms, right > > > here, bleeding. He died last night." While the groom was not injured, > > > his father, mother and sister were reportedly killed. > > > > Mullah Mohammad Asim described what took place when US ground forces > > > finally entered the village: "At midnight the Americans came and they > > > took the men out of the houses and handcuffed them. But when they saw > > > the death and the destruction, they removed the handcuffs and told us > > > to take the wounded to hospital." > > > > The slaughter of civilians in Afghanistan has become an almost daily > > > occurrence. Without sufficient troops to control the country and > > > desperate to avoid casualties of their own, US and NATO forces rely > > > heavily on air power to combat the growing Taliban insurgency. Air > > > strikes or helicopter gunship attacks are called in against any > > > suspected insurgent concentration. In scores of cases, the alleged > > > "Taliban" have turned out to be villagers attempting to go about their > > > lives amid a foreign occupation and a resistance war. Wedding parties— > > > which often involve celebratory gun fire into the air—have frequently > > > been wrongly assessed as "insurgent activity". > > > > Statistics released by the US military show a huge increase in > > > airstrikes. In all, 13,802 air missions have been flown in Afghanistan > > > and 2,983 bombs were dropped in the first nine months of this year. > > > This breaks down to at least 50 missions and 10 bombings per day—a 31 > > > percent increase over the 10,538 missions flown during the same time > > > period in 2007. > > > > The US-backed Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai is becoming > > > increasingly frantic over the indiscriminate air strikes. The constant > > > reports of civilian deaths have generated enormous hatred of both the > > > American occupation and the puppet regime. They are a factor in the > > > growing support for the Taliban resistance—especially in the country's > > > ethnic Pashtun southern provinces where the population has suffered > > > the most from US and NATO atrocities. > > > > At a press conference on Wednesday to congratulate Barack Obama on his > > > election victory, Karzai issued an appeal to the president-elect. "My > > > first demand from the US president, when he takes office, would be to > > > end civilian casualties in Afghanistan and take the war to places > > > where there are terrorist nests and training centres," he said. > > > > Any notion that an Obama administration will direct the US military to > > > scale back its operations in Afghanistan is absurd. On the contrary, > > > Obama has centred his foreign policy on an escalation of the Afghan > > > war and an increase in US and NATO troop numbers in the country. > > > During the election, he repeatedly advocated extending the conflict > > > over the border into Pakistan's tribal agencies, which Taliban > > > insurgents have used as a safe haven and base for their resistance to > > > the US-led occupation. > > > > Under the fraudulent banner of finishing the "war on terrorism", Obama > > > intends to ensure that Afghanistan is consolidated as a US client > > > state. His election campaign served as the vehicle for influential > > > sections of the American establishment that consider a high priority > > > should be given to Central Asia—a region where Russia and China are > > > striving for geopolitical dominance. > > > > The Bush administration is now in essence implementing the Obama > > > strategy. Since September, the US military has carried out repeated > > > air strikes inside Pakistan. Additional US combat brigades are being > > > prepared for deployment to Afghanistan. As many as 30,000 extra troops > > > may be sent over the next three to six months. The bipartisan > > > militarist policy is one of the reasons why Bush can speak of a > > > "seamless transition" to an Obama White House. > > > > The figure overseeing the escalation of the Afghan war on behalf of > > > both Bush and Obama is US general David Petraeus, the former commander > > > of US forces in Iraq. Petraeus now heads US Central Command, which has > > > authority over operations throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. > > > > Petraeus visited Pakistan at the beginning of this week for talks with > > > President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Both > > > appealed to him to end the US attacks inside the country which are > > > fueling support for Islamist militants. He responded by authorising > > > another air strike yesterday against a housing complex in the tribal > > > agency of North Waziristan, which killed between 10 and 13 people > > > according to Pakistani sources. > > > > Petraeus is now in Afghanistan, where he is compiling a "strategic > > > review" of US operations that will be presented in the coming weeks to > > > the Bush administration and president-elect Obama. Petraeus arrived in > > > the country as the US military brushed off the Karzai government's > > > complaints over the impact of air strikes. Within hours of Karzai's > > > press conference on Wednesday, a bombing run against an alleged > > > Taliban band in the Afghan province of Badghis reportedly killed seven > > > civilians as well as 13 militants.- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
